SAP Cutover Lead

Req ID: 384361 

NTT DATA strives to hire exceptional, innovative and passionate individuals who want to grow with us. If you want to be part of an inclusive, adaptable, and forward-thinking organization, apply now.

We are currently seeking a SAP Cutover Lead to join our team in Hyderabad, Telangana (IN-TG), India (IN).

The Director – Global SAP S/4HANA Cutover & Deployment is responsible for leading the enterprise-wide cutover strategy, governance, and execution for global SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA transformation programs. This executive leadership role oversees the planning and execution of all deployment activities across multiple countries, regions, business units, and legal entities while ensuring business continuity, operational readiness, and successful go-live outcomes.
The Director partners with executive leadership, PMO, Enterprise Architecture, Business Transformation, Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, Data Migration, Application Development, Change Management, and System Integration partners to orchestrate complex deployments across global operations.
This role is accountable for establishing the enterprise cutover methodology, directing regional cutover teams, managing deployment risks, and ensuring standardized execution across all implementation waves.
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Key Responsibilities
Global Cutover Strategy & Governance
•    Develop and own the enterprise-wide SAP S/4HANA Cutover Strategy.
•    Establish global cutover governance, policies, standards, and deployment methodology.
•    Define deployment principles for Greenfield, Brownfield, and Selective Data Transition programs.
•    Create enterprise cutover playbooks, templates, quality gates, and governance frameworks.
•    Establish executive-level deployment readiness criteria and go/no-go decision processes.
•    Lead global deployment governance boards and executive steering committee reviews.
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Enterprise Program Leadership
•    Lead global cutover activities across multiple implementation waves.
•    Manage regional Cutover Managers across Americas, EMEA, APAC, and LATAM.
•    Coordinate deployment activities spanning:
o    Multiple countries
o    Business units
o    Manufacturing sites
o    Shared Service Centers
o    Distribution centers
o    Corporate functions
o    Joint ventures
•    Ensure standardized execution while accommodating regional business requirements.
•    Drive alignment across multiple System Integrators and technology partners.
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Executive Stakeholder Management
•    Serve as the executive owner for deployment planning and production readiness.
•    Partner with:
o    Executive Sponsors
o    CIO
o    CTO
o    Global PMO
o    Enterprise Architecture
o    Business Transformation Office
o    Regional Business Leaders
o    Functional Program Directors
o    Infrastructure Leadership
o    Security Leadership
•    Present deployment readiness, risks, financial impacts, and mitigation plans to Executive Steering Committees.
•    Lead executives go/no-go decision meetings.
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Global Deployment Planning
•    Oversee integrated deployment schedules across multiple workstreams.
•    Direct planning for:
o    Production migrations
o    SAP transports
o    Data migration
o    Infrastructure readiness
o    Disaster Recovery validation
o    Security readiness
o    Integration cutovers
o    Business continuity activities
o    Hypercare planning
•    Ensure deployment activities align with enterprise release calendars and blackout periods.
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Multi-Country Deployment Management
•    Lead phased, regional, and simultaneous global go-live deployments.
•    Coordinate deployments across multiple time zones and regions.
•    Manage country-specific deployment requirements including:
o    Regulatory compliance
o    Localization
o    Tax requirements
o    Payroll
o    Financial close
o    Language support
•    Coordinate deployment sequencing across legal entities and shared service organizations.
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Enterprise Risk Management
•    Own the global deployment risk register.
•    Develop enterprise rollback and contingency strategies.
•    Lead executive risk assessments throughout deployment planning.
•    Coordinate business continuity and disaster recovery preparedness.
•    Manage cross-program dependencies and deployment conflicts.
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Data Migration & Technical Readiness
Provide executive oversight for:
•    Multiple mock conversions
•    Dress rehearsals
•    Data reconciliation
•    Production migration
•    Environment readiness
•    Infrastructure scalability
•    Performance validation
•    Security readiness
•    Disaster recovery testing
•    Production support readiness
Collaborate closely with:
•    SAP Basis
•    Data Migration
•    Infrastructure
•    Cloud Operations
•    Cybersecurity
•    Network Operations
•    SAP Technical Architecture
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Business Readiness
Partner with Business Transformation leadership to ensure:
•    Organizational readiness
•    End-user training completion
•    Business process readiness
•    Operational readiness
•    Help Desk readiness
•    Command Center preparation
•    Executive communications
•    Regional communications
•    Hypercare resource planning
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Vendor & Partner Management
•    Direct multiple System Integrators and consulting partners.
•    Govern deployment deliverables across vendors.
•    Ensure contractual deployment commitments are achieved.
•    Coordinate offshore and global delivery teams.
•    Manage third-party deployment dependencies.
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Financial & Resource Management
•    Manage deployment budgets across global programs.
•    Optimize deployment resources across implementation waves.
•    Forecast deployment staffing requirements.
•    Manage deployment-related vendor costs.
•    Report deployment financial performance to executive leadership.
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Hypercare & Operational Transition
Lead enterprise stabilization activities by:
•    Establishing global Hypercare governance
•    Directing Command Center operations
•    Coordinating regional support organizations
•    Managing executive incident escalations
•    Transitioning programs to Application Management Services (AMS)
•    Conducting post-go-live lessons learned and continuous improvement reviews
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Organizational Leadership
•    Build and mentor a global Cutover Management organization.
•    Develop regional Cutover Leads and Program Managers.
•    Establish deployment Centers of Excellence (CoE).
•    Promote continuous improvement using deployment metrics and retrospectives.
•    Foster collaboration across global teams and business functions.
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Required Qualifications
•    Bachelor’s degree in information technology, Engineering, Computer Science, Business Administration, or a related field.
•    Master's degree (MBA or equivalent) preferred.
•    15+ years of SAP implementation and enterprise transformation experience.
•    10+ years leading enterprise-scale SAP programs.
•    8+ years leading SAP Cutover, Deployment, or Release Management organizations.
•    Experience leading at least three global SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA transformation programs.
•    Demonstrated success delivering multi-country, multi-wave SAP deployments.
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Required SAP Experience
Extensive experience with:
•    SAP ECC
•    SAP S/4HANA
•    SAP Activate Methodology
•    Brownfield, Greenfield, and Selective Data Transition approaches
•    SAP Cloud ALM
•    SAP Solution Manager
•    SAP Basis
•    SAP Landscape Management
•    SAP Integration Suite
•    SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP)
•    SAP Fiori
•    SAP Security and GRC
•    Data Migration and Master Data Governance
•    SAP Analytics and Reporting
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Leadership Competencies
•    Executive presence and influence
•    Enterprise program leadership
•    Strategic planning and execution
•    Global stakeholder management
•    Organizational transformation
•    Cross-cultural leadership
•    Decision-making under pressure
•    Enterprise risk management
•    Vendor and partner governance
•    Financial and budget management
•    Negotiation and conflict resolution
•    Change leadership
•    Talent development and coaching
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Preferred Certifications
•    SAP Certified Application Associate – SAP S/4HANA
•    SAP Activate Project Manager
•    Project Management Professional (PMP)
•    PgMP (Program Management Professional)
•    PRINCE2 Practitioner
•    ITIL Foundation or Managing Professional
•    SAFe Program Consultant (SPC) or SAFe Agilist
•    Prosci Change Management Certification
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Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
•    100% successful execution of global cutover plans.
•    On-time delivery of all implementation waves.
•    Production deployments completed within approved downtime windows.
•    Minimal business disruption during go-live.
•    Successful completion of executive go/no-go readiness reviews.
•    Achievement of Hypercare exit criteria within planned timelines.
•    High deployment quality with reduced post-go-live incidents.
•    Standardized cutover processes adopted across all regions.
•    Effective budget management and resource utilization.
•    Continuous improvement through deployment metrics and lessons learned.
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Work Environment
•    Executive leadership role supporting a global SAP transformation program.
•    Requires coordination across multiple time zones with international teams.
•    Ability to support critical cutover weekends, holiday deployments, and extended go-live windows.
•    Willingness to travel internationally (up to 30–50%) based on deployment schedules.
•    Operates in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment with executive-level visibility and accountability.

About NTT DATA

NTT DATA is a $30 billion business and technology services leader, serving 75% of the Fortune Global 100. We are committed to accelerating client success and positively impacting society through responsible innovation. We are one of the world's leading AI and digital infrastructure providers, with unmatched capabilities in enterprise-scale AI, cloud, security, connectivity, data centers and application services. our consulting and Industry solutions help organizations and society move confidently and sustainably into the digital future. As a Global Top Employer, we have experts in more than 50 countries. We also offer clients access to a robust ecosystem of innovation centers as well as established and start-up partners. NTT DATA is a part of NTT Group, which invests over $3 billion each year in R&D.

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